Danish film-maker Martin Zandvliet’s “Land
of Mine” (aka ‘Under Sandet’, 2015) opens with a military sergeant,
showcasing his fervent love for the country through a furious act of violence
and it ends up with him upending the strict rules of state to commit a
compassionate act. The narrative engagingly tracks down the humanistic moments
that pushed the rigid sergeant to shed down his ingrained hate. The film is set
in 1945 and tells the less known tale of German POW's, forced to defuse the
millions of land mines (2.2 million, to be exact) set alongside Danish West
Coast (by the German military, which occupied Denmark for five years,
anticipated that the ‘Allied army’ would land along the Danish Coasts).
The POW's are mostly teenage boys, still withholding the hope of getting back
to their beloved land and families. The German boys have had minimal military
training and none related to bomb disposal. Writer/director Martin Zandvliet is
clever enough to not evoke war experiences of the both sides so as to hold back
a politically neutral viewpoint. He allows the viewers to invest themselves
with the characters and side with the humanistic ones, irrespective of the
identities.

IMDb Ratings: 7.8

Genre: Drama | History | War

Cast: Roland Møller, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, Laura Bro

Country: Denmark | Germany

Language: German, Danish, English

Runtime: 100 min

Color: Color

“Land of Mine”
is not devoid of the overarching emotional pull and sentimental narrative
devices which plague these kinds of war drama. It doesn’t have the intricate
visual methodology to convey the horrors experienced by its characters (like in
the recent “Son of Saul”), since the plot trajectory and visuals are
simple & predictable. The gritty nature related to the diffusion of mines
also has the danger of getting packaged as a piece of tense entertainment,
which will make audience feel sad for a moment and then move on. Despite such uncomplicated narrative device
and possibilities of misrepresentation, “Land of Mine” remains sensitive
and authentic, thanks to the strong characterizations of the German POW s and
an impeccable performance by Roland Muller as Sergeant Carl Rasmussen. There
are obvious missteps and melodrama, but it also elegantly uncovers a
little-known story from a very familiar period in history.

A Still from Land of Mine

A staunch military man to the core, Sergeant
Rasmussen hostile attitude towards the German is shown in the opening sequence
as he beats and bullies the departing occupiers. While the film’s original
title is translated as ‘Under the Sand’, the World-wide English title “Land
of Mine” offers two possible interpretations: the obvious one being the coast
riddled with mine; the other indicates the strength and ferocity the Danes
receive from winning over their homeland. The original title also works as a
beautiful metaphor for the foreboding elements, waiting to overturn the nation
with cruel, inhumane acts. What’s waiting to explode is not just the ‘mine’ under
the sand, but also the unbridled anger, waiting to obliterate basic humanity.
Rasmussen’s words blast like bombs when he first comes across the Germans
assigned to clear the 45,000 mines along the coast. Among the Germans, the ones
who immediately make an impression on Rasmussen are the teenage twins – Werner
and Ernst Lessner. Then, there is Sebastian Schumann with his brooding,
piercing looks. Rasmussen commands them to defuse six bombs an hour and
provides little hope that after finishing the job they might go back to their
homeland. The German boys after their dangerous day work spend rest of the
time, hatching hopeful plans about their future in dilapidated nation. Opposite
the little shed, where the boys are bunking, there lives a single mother and
innocent little girl. If you think that the little girl would play a vital role
in showcasing the Germans’ humanity, you are right. If you think Rasmussen
warms up to these boys, you are right again. But, as I said these obvious
button-pressing things doesn’t entirely derail our emotional resonance (or
connection) to the subject at hand.

A Still from Land of Mine

The picturization of the sweeping
vistas of the coast are spectacular. But, I felt there are far too many visual
cues to manipulate viewer’s emotions. The bird’s eye view of movie’s moment of
happiness (like the scene where the boys play at beach) and the recurring
high-angle shot of Rasmussen driving the jeep adversely impacts the film’s
grayish narrative tone. The repeated use of wide shot clues us in to expect an
explosion and expect for the first death, these visual cues only creates a
forced dramatic moment (the musical score after the explosions felt too
manipulative). The nuanced staging of the interactions between boys and
Rasmussen is absent in the way director Zandvliet handles the horrific deaths.
The mounting deaths sadly become a plot point and stop the film from maturing
into a great humanist drama. The subplot involving the cute, little girl and the
boorish lieutenant Ebbe leans too much onto the conventional narrative arc. The
subtlety and originality related to the story is cast aside by such mawkish
inclinations. Roland Moller & Louis Hoffman as Rasmussen and Sebastian
delivers a strong performance, transcending certain contrivances of the big
dramatic moments. The inherent tension and genteel friendship between them
makes the film well-worth seeking out, despite all the aforementioned
disappointments.

A Still from Land of Mine

“Land of Mine”
(100 minutes) chronicles a heart-wrenching and obscure subject, set in the
ravaged, post-World War II landscape. It has no political inclinations,
although its leanings towards formal narrative devices make it far from being a
great ethical work of World War II cinema. Nevertheless, it’s worth watching
for the solid performances from the ensemble.

About Author -

Arun Kumar is an ardent cinephile, who finds solace by exploring and learning from the unique works of the cinematic art. He believes in the shared-dream experience of cinema and tries to share those thoughts in the best possible way. He blogs at Passion for Movies and 'Creofire'.

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Murtaza Ali Khan is an independent film critic / journalist based out of New Delhi, India. He has been writing on cinema for over seven years. He runs the award-winning entertainment blog A Potpourri of Vestiges. He is also the Films Editor at the New York City-based publication Cafe Dissensus and regularly contributes to The Hindu and The Sunday Guardian. He was previously a columnist at Huff Post. He has also contributed to publications like DailyO, Newslaundry, The Quint, Dear Cinema, Desimartini and Jamuura Blog. He regularly appears as a guest panelist on the various television channels and is also associated with radio.